WWE Extreme Rules Review 05/22/16

Extreme Rules was this past Sunday and it sure was memorable. It was mainly memorable due to the return of the Undisputed Future Seth Rollins. However, top to bottom this show was a lot better than last months Payback, and it’s really beginning to feel like a New Era. I never got to watch the event live, so most of the stuff was spoiled for me before I actually got to sit down and watch the event. However, I will still write my review, but I won’t be going into as much depth as usual, but mainly just state my opinions.

WWE Extreme Rules takes place from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey in front of a crowd of 15,963.

– The Kickoff had a segment featuring the Dudley’s and Big Cass. I assume this feud between the Dudley’s and Enzo and Cass will continue.

– Also, Becky Lynch and Paige joined the panel to talk about the Women’s Title match. Lynch was really good in saying that Charlotte’s been successful as the champion without burying her for being a heel.

– The Miz did some interview with Jojo while Maryse was with Miz and he did this over the top acting routine. The Kickoff panel laughed about it saying he was terrible. Lawler liked it since he’s a heel.

– There was a Q&A with Rusev and Lana sitting at the “social media lounge” to answer questions. She looked hot. Matchka means “crush” in case you were dying to know.

No DQ Match
Baron Corbin def. Dolph Ziggler
in 7:10 via pin.
The match was what it was, and it was very back and fourth with Ziggler always finding the upper hand. It quite frankly was the most non aggressive No DQ match I have ever seen. There wasn’t many spots where the rules were being broken or you had to remind yourself that what they’re doing is legal because the match stipulation. In the end, Corbin dodged a super kick and hit Ziggler with a low blow for the win. It worked since Corbin is supposed to be this asshole heel. I guess if they’re gonna continue this feud between the two of them, it helps progress this feud to the next step. Otherwise, it wasn’t much besides a fun little match. The stipulation only really seemed to come in play for the finish, but it makes you wonder why they even needed the stipulation when Corbin could have snuck in a low blow as a hell would anyway.
Rating – **

Texas Tornado Tag Match
Anderson & Gallows def. The Usos
in 8:22 via pin.
This was a fun tag team match to watch. Anyone that has followed me for a while knows I love chaos in wrestling and thats what this match provided. It was all over the place and everyone was selling everything great. The match was high impact with a clash of styles, with The Club being more hard hitting with the Japanese Strong Style, whereas the Usos had more of their planned spots and stuff. In the end the right guys went over in this match, and it almost felt like this matches sole purpose was to have Anderson and Gallows get over on Usos before this feud was wrapped. Knowing now that the Styles/Reigns feud is over, it makes sense that these two teams needed a blowoff match as well. The WWE doesn’t do these Tornado Tag matches often, therefore I personally really enjoyed this. I know there must be plans for Anderson and Gallows, but whats next for the Usos?
Rating – ***

United States Championship
Rusev w/ Lana def. Kalisto (C)
in 9:19 via submission
About damn time they got the United States title off Kalisto, and put it on someone who could benefit from it more. It’s perfect time for Kalisto to go back to focusing on his tag team as one half of the Lucha Dragons with Sin Cara, where he is better served. I like Kalisto, and I enjoy watching him wrestle, but him winning and holding the US Title as long as he did seemed very random and meaningless. Rusev has the ability to be dominate again and bring prestige back to the title. I know rumours are that Cena may return, to just take the title from Rusev and continue the US Open Challenge, however I hope thats not the case. If it is, I am okay with seeing a Cena/Rusev feud again for the next couple of months. It’s amazing how soon after the LON broke up, Rusev feels important again. It was a decent match, and the right guy won.
Rating – **1/4

WWE Tag Team Championships
The New Day def. The VaudeVillians
in 6:20 via pin.
The promo before the match from the New Day, had its moments and as per usual The New Day always cut entertaining promos, references many people in tune with pop culture would get. The New Day continue to be one of the most over acts in WWE. I dig it. As for the match, it was a fun match to watch as most New Day and Vaude Villans (for anyone who watches NXT) matches are. I was surprised to see Xavier wrestling instead of Kofi, but it was a nice change. The match had some great spots and near falls which really had the crowd engaged. Initially, when Enzo & Cass stepped on the scene, they were met with open arms, but the WWE Universe just wasn’t (and still isn’t) quite sure how to take English & Gotch. Their gimmick, albeit pretty rad, doesn’t quite resonate with the younger WWE fan base. Therefore, I think the decision to have them up against the New Day first made sense, and quite frankly I do think this feud could continue. I don’t see the New Day dropping the titles to the Vaude Villains but I do see the them wrestling again. The New Day made them stand out. In my opinion, it’s got to be either Enzo & Cass or Gallows & Anderson who end The New Day’s historic reign.
Rating – **

Intercontinental Championship
The Miz w/ Maryse def. Cesaro, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
in 18:10 via pin.
This was easily the match of the nigh and a candidate for match of the year. All four guys killed it and it exceeded my expectations. I really went into this match thinking any single one of these guys could win, and they really played on that emotion throughout the match. Once the match stepped it up a gear in never went back down.It’s hard to really go over everything here, but I think it’s pretty telling when the crowd stands on their feet to give them a standing ovation during the match. Those guys all earned it. Give a lot of credit to Zayn, Cesaro and Owens for being three of the best guys in WWE while Miz isn’t at their level all the time, but he showed he is good enough to be part of something special. Everyone almost look like they had it won at some point. It really was a war between four workhorses of the company, which going back to its roots, is what the Intercontinental title represents. They continued to use the hate between Owens and Zayn to add a layer to this story, which in the end caused both of them to fall short from being victorious. They showcased Cesaro’s unbelievable speed and strength, which in the end wasn’t enough to overcome the odds. It also showed the cleverness of The Miz, who like any dirty heel knew when to pick the best spots to steal a win, which he eventually did. If you haven’t watched this match, I recommend you do.
Rating – ****1/2

Asylum Cage Match
Dean Ambrose def. Chris Jericho
in 26:24 via pin.
I really enjoyed this match a lot more than their match at Payback and way more than Ambrose’s match with Lesnar at Wrestlemania. The idea of an Asylum match with weapons hanging above the cage, really brought the extreme to Extreme Rules. Although this match became more about the weapons above the ring, than actual wrestling….it was okay considering the match it just followed which was a wrestling classic. The match started off slow and to be honest, it did feel quite long. The match lost my attention a bunch of times but it did have its spots that really got my attention back. Ambrose leaping off the cage, Jericho mocking Ambrose in classic Jericho fashion when he had the barbed wire bat and of course Jericho taking the thumbtack bump. The match couldn’t be as hardcore as we love, because the restrictions of this new era, but for them to get in a spot like the thumbtack one was cool. It also makes you appreciate Jericho a lot more, because you know he didnt have to take that bump. The fact that he agreed to take that thumbtack bump for whatever reason he did, whether it was to enhance the match, feud, show or just help Ambrose, you have to thank him for doing so. Jericho is at the point in his career where he doesn’t have to do stuff like that because he’s already built his legacy, so its really awesome to see him go above and beyond like that. I don’t see them doing another Ambrose Asylum match for a while, and unlike what they’ve done with matches such as the Elimination Chamber and Hell in a Cell, I would rather not see them play it out. If this match was 15-17 minutes rather than 26 minutes, I might of enjoyed it a lot more.
Rating – **1/2

WWE Women’s Championship
Submission Match
Charlotte def. Natalya
in 9:30 via submission.
Every time I get excited for a classic between this two during their main roster feud, they find a way to have screwy finish. That was a solid match from two ladies whom I admire in the ring, with yet another finish that was groan inducing. I’m just tired of the babyface women consistently booked like idiots and usually losing these matches due to a disqualification or getting distracted by some sort of intereference. I think not being able to do nearfalls hurt them a lot because the crowd wasn’t into it as much as they might normally react to things, or maybe they just didn’t build the suspense that one may tap at points. I thought Natalya should have had more offence because she really didn’t do much before setting up the Sharpshooters spot. I’m use to both these women really focusing on a body part before locking on their finisher submission moves. Natalya didn’t get much in to make it seem like Charlotte was going to submit to the Sharpshooter. As for the Brooke involvement, I didn’t see it coming, but now that Emma’s out for the rest of the year most likely after back surgery it seems like they want to pair Brooke with Charlotte. I’m okay with it because they are both heels. I actually thought Charlotte would win clean building her as a strong champion. A champion who does cheat to win, but if push comes to shove, can still overcome the odds and win off pure talent and resiliency. This would mean they might do this match again although I’m not sure what the plan is going forward. I think Sasha Banks will win the Women’s Title by SummerSlam, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I’m disappointed we never got a Natalya and Charlotte match that just had a clean finish. They have such great psychology with each other, its quite shameful all their matches ended with interferences that needed further explaining the next night of Raw.
Rating – **1/2

WWE World Championship
Extreme Rules
Roman Reigns def. AJ Styles
in 22:13 via pin
AJ Styles enters as the hero and Roman comes out to “you can’t wrestle” chants, yet Roman’s supposed to be the babyface and Styles at this point a tweeter. Interesting times in the WWE. In my opinion, these two have amazing chemistry with each other and I was looking forward to this match. The match was intense, chaotic, physical and an atmosphere that felt like an all out war. Styles took a bunch of nasty bumps, which makes you cringe if you know of his history with back injuries because they all looked so brutal. I thought Reigns did a pretty good job of selling the knee injury although he probably could have done it a bit more. The interference by G&A as well as The Usos was pretty obvious before the match started, but I thought the spots they did really worked. There were nearfalls because of the interference. Nothing wrong with that. That final spot was awesome looking. It’s not easy to jump off the top ropes and drill a guy with a perfect Spear, but they timed it perfectly. If there’s a complaint then it’s the fact that Styles hit the Styles Clash twice (second time on a chair) and Reigns was able to kick out both times. For the second one there was slight distraction caused by an Uso. Basically this the same sort of “Superman” booking we see from WWE’s top faces all the time whether it’s John Cena, Steve Austin, The Rock, Hulk Hogan or Reigns. That’s just how it’s always going to be. It does hurt Styles a bit that he could hit Reigns with two finishers and multiple chair shots, yet he wasn’t able to win. Reigns hit him with a Spear and that was enough for the win. Granted, Styles did take a beating prior to that with some huge bumps including two table bumps, a nasty bump on the floor and a Spear on the floor. This match was great but it ended as we all expected with Roman standing tall. It was a really good match though and these two have amazing chemistry.
Rating – ****1/4

– As Roman Reigns celebrated after the match, Seth Rollins appeared out of nowhere to a massive pop. Seth turned Roman around and hit him with a pedigree and posed with the championship he never lost. It wasn’t advertised, it wasn’t promoted and it was one hell of a surprise.

Final Thoughts
I think this PPV did a way better job at producing quality show than last months Payback. I was 7-1 with my predictions. My only wrong prediction was thinking Cesaro walked away IC Champ, even though I did say Miz is the other option. It’s weird that still havent seen Sasha Banks on PPV and barley on TV since Wrestlemania. The two matches you must watch from this event is the IC Title match and The WWE Title match. I would recommend watching Jericho/Ambrose as well, but you may find yourself forwarding through a lot of the slow moments. Seth Rollins returning at the end of this show really made this cement its spot in wrestling history. There was news earlier in the day that Rollins was backstage and that he could show up. I’m glad it happened because he was the best performer in WWE the last two years. Rollin’s got hurt on my birthday last year, and that seems so long ago. Seth’s presence is really going to bring new vibe to this new era. If anything, it was those final moments of the show that made you want to tune into Raw the next night. Overall, I really enjoyed the show and I do recommend you check it out.
Final Rating – 7.5/10